Bad Blood
by NikkiB1973
Summary: Bella finally realises what it means to be a vampire...set in Eclipse AU.


**Bad Blood**

Disclaimer: all characters and copyright belong to Stephanie Meyer.

_**A/N-Short story set in Eclipse AU. Billy's story in italics is taken from the film itself!**_

Bella could see the child skipping beside his parents. He held onto his mother's hand as he chattered happily in a language she couldn't understand. His eyes were bright with excitement and his face glowed as he stared around at the extravagant castle. His father laughed at him in affection and leaned down to ruffle his hair. Just in front of this happy family was an old woman; she was bent over slightly, dressed all in black as she held onto the rosary beads clasped firmly in her hands. She was muttering under her breath as she glared at the red haired beauty who was leading them through the castle, pointing out various items of interest. Bella swallowed thickly as she felt Edward tug on her hand as he urged her to hurry. "Don't look." He whispered. "Its best not to."

"We have to..." Bella stopped as she felt his cold arm encircle her waist. For the first time she shuddered at his touch. Even though he entreated her not to look at the tourists flooding into the Volturi stronghold, she couldn't help herself. These were flesh and blood people. This was real life, and they were heading to certain death, and had no idea. The little boy giggled happily; his laughter echoing off the stone walls. She heard his mother hush him. Bella began to shake as she twisted her head round to look at him one last time As if he could sense her eyes on him, the boy turned to look straight at her. His vivid blue eyes locked with hers and he waved innocently. A gasp left Bella's lips as a cold shiver ran down her spine.

"Don't look." Edward's voice hissed in her ear again. "It's best not to look."

"NO." Bella pushed him away from her. He reeled back in shock, his white face looking more marble like than ever; an Adonis forever frozen at the age of seventeen. It was not possible that she had the strength to shove him back like that. Not in the real world. She was a weak human; weak in the worst possible way; weak only as a coward could be. The boys happy blue eyes filled her head as she turned around and ran, ran as fast as any vampire. She heard Edward's footfalls as he tried to catch her, but he wouldn't be able to this time. Her hair flew like a banner behind her as she fled to the head of the crowd of tourists. She knocked into the statuesque red head who was leading them to their doom and shoved her aside. The old woman with the rosary looked up at her, her beady eyes boring into Bella as if she could see into her very soul. Bella faltered a little. She had no plan. She just wanted to warn them, to stop them heading to a fate worse than death. The old woman, who looked like an old crow, dressed all in black, began to pray in a foreign tongue, her weathered fingers rubbed on the rosary beads as if to summon help. Only there was none. "You will die if you walk through those doors." Bella said breathlessly to the crowd.

"Is this part of the tour?" A woman's voice whispered. There were more hushed murmurings as some of them began to clap her weakly. Bella saw the boy look at her with interest. He was smiling and laughing as his mother rubbed the top of his head, laughing along with him. Bella knew it was over then. They wouldn't listen. She could scream at the top of her lungs and they wouldn't hear. They never did. This same scenario played in her nightmares every night and it never changed. The boys face was in front of her as the castle walls began to turn red as blood began to soak through the walls; the old woman's voice became loud as she prayed over and over, before it became mixed with the blood-curdling cries of the hapless tourists as they walked to their doom...

Bella woke up screaming...

* * *

Edward leaned down and kissed her gently on the lips. Bella stood like a shop floor mannequin as he held onto the lapels of her coat with his slim musician's fingers. They wound into the material of the coat, holding on tight as his hard mouth pressed on hers. _He was doing this on purpose to rile_ _Jacob_._ He was so fucking obvious_, she thought mutinously. _Can you hear me, Edward? _She said aloud in her head_. Can you hear how much I hate you? How much you sicken me? Can you? No, you can't read my mind, can you? I may be a weak fool, but I have that. You'll never know what I'm thinking ever! _His lips moved more forcefully against hers for a moment longer. This was very unlike him, he was trying to mark his territory. _Pathetic._ Bella was relieved when he stepped back and smoothed down the lapels of her coat. Yes, everything had to be neat and tidy in his world. "Call me and I'll pick you up." He whispered as he leaned close. Bella couldn't stop the shudder that rippled across her skin. She knew he noticed but she didn't say anything, and neither did he.

Bella was already turning away from him. With relief she crossed the invisible boundary line between her two worlds and instantly she felt warmer. "Hey, Jake." She greeted her best friend with a wry smile.

"Hey, beautiful." He responded. His prominent muscles rippled under his smooth skin as he quickly lifted her up into a tight bear hug. Bella smiled to herself for the first time that day as his strong arms wrapped around her completely. _Take that, Edward_, she thought sarcastically. Bella knew Jacob was holding her for far longer than necessary, but she was glad. Anything that pissed Edward off was good in her book. She heard the squeal of tires on the road as Edward drove off at speed in the Volvo, and she instantly relaxed. Jacob chuckled as he finally let her go and placed her gently on the ground. "Your bloodsucker wasn't too happy." He opened the door of the Rabbit for her and watched as she climbed inside.

"No." Bella shrugged nonchalantly, taking Jacob by surprise. This was a first! Normally Bella couldn't wait to defend her beloved leech.

"Have you fallen out with the prince of darkness or something?" Jacob couldn't help but ask. He waited for Bella to tell him off for calling sparklepants names, but again she said nothing, merely smiled wryly._ Now this was definitely different_. Jacob had to reach across and touch her forehead to check if she had a temperature. "No fever." He mused. He dared to touch her cheek, letting his fingers linger a little on her cool skin. He grinned when she didn't brush his hand away like she normally did. This put him in a very good mood. He turned on the engine and winked at Bella playfully. "I think this is going to be a very good day."

"And why is that?" Bella asked in amusement as she strapped herself in. His good mood was infectious. After being around a morose Edward for two weeks straight, being with Jacob was like a breath of fresh air.

"Lets just say I sense a change in the air." Jacob replied ambiguously.

Bella laughed a little as she settled back comfortably and relaxed for the first time since coming back from Italy.

* * *

"A tribal meeting?" Bella was stunned when she saw the other pack members plus Billy and the elders gathered around an open fire. She shoved her hands in the pockets of her jeans, feeling nervous, as she felt all eyes turn her way. Some were friendly like Seth, Embry and Quil; many were not. Bella flinched when she met Paul's narrowed eyes, and Leah's resentful ones. "I think I should go." She whispered to Jacob, already turning away.

"No, you're welcome here. I want you here." Jacob caught her arm and spun her round again. He glared over at Paul and Leah, and smiled grimly when they dropped their eyes to the floor. Yes, they knew who was in charge now. "Look Kim and Em are here too." He pointed over to the two women who were wrapped in Sam and Jared's arms. "You get on with them, right?"

Bella nodded, feeling dubious. _Get on_ might be pushing it a bit. _Tolerate_ was a better word. Yes, the precious imprints tolerated her because they were forced to. Bella hid her behind her long hair as Jacob tugged her toward the circle of people. She heard Billy greet her and she waved at him. He smiled indulgently and gestured for her to take a seat beside him. She felt a little better sitting near Jacob's father, she was out of view of the others and was able to avoid the packs scrutinising eyes. Jacob sat down beside her and patted the ground for her to sit nearer. Bella looked askance at him before giving in; it was cold after all!

Billy waited for another moment until he was certain everyone was feeling settled before beginning to speak. _"The Quileute have been a small tribe from the beginning, and we've always had magic in our blood. We were great spirit warriors, shapeshifters that transformed to the powerful wolf. This enabled us to scare off our enemies and protect our tribe. One day our warriors came across a creature who looked like a man but was hard like stone and cold as ice..."_

Bella glanced around at the others, they were all entranced by Billy's husky voice and his bright eyes as he wove his tales of the tribe's turbulent past. She could see that even Paul and Leah were caught up in the story as they listened intently. Jacob too was gazing at his dad, his dark eyes glowing fiercely, as he relived his ancestors past battles in his head. Bella could see it herself; the proud warriors in their wolf forms, defending their people and their home against the wicked vampires. Vampires like...she stopped her train of thought as the young boys blue eyes appeared in her line of vision. She found herself back in Volterra, Edward standing beside her, as they watched the hapless tourists walk ignorantly to their doom. Billy's voice faded to be replaced with the sound of the boys laughter and the old woman's murmured prayers. "No." Bella whimpered.

"Bells. Bells." Bella was startled when she heard Jacob whisper urgently in her ear. She stared at him for a long moment, her ears still filled with the horrific screams of the tourists as they were slaughtered by the Volturi. "Bella? Bella, are you okay?" He prodded her gently as the scene finally morphed back to the present.

"I'm fine." Bella muttered as she drew her legs up to her chest. She felt like she couldn't breathe, but she wouldn't allow herself to have a meltdown in front of everyone. Bella forced herself to look at Billy as he continued to weave his magical tale. The others were unaware of her agitation, they were all mesmerised by their chief.

"_Our warriors sharp teeth finally tore it apart._" Billy glanced at every one with his dark eyes, which were filled with the wisdom of the ages. _"But only fire would completely destroy it. They lived in fear that the cold man was not alone. They were right." _

Bella's head was filled with screams again, but this time not from the hapless tourists in Italy but from the helpless villagers from the past. She could see a female vampire, tall, majestic and deadly, the image of Victoria, as she ransacked the village and killed the Quileute people in revenge for her lovers death at the hands of the wolves. Billy's voice was like a whisper in the background as it floated amidst the chaos that Bella could see in her minds eye. _"She took her vengeance out on the village. Our elder chief, Taha Aki, was the only spirit warrior left to save the tribe after his son was killed. Taha Aki's third wife would see that we would lose. The third wife was no magical being, had no special powers but one. Courage." _

Bella could now see the old woman, her eyes wild and full of fear, holding out her arm in front of as she watched her husband struggle with the crazed vampire. She was holding a knife in her hand which she then stabbed into her shivering flesh. Blood pooled out of the wound and onto the muddy ground. "_The third wife's sacrifice distracted the cold woman long enough for Taha Aki to destroy her. She saved the tribe. Over time our enemies have disappeared but one remains. The cold ones. Our magic awakens when they're near, and we sense it now, we feel the threat in our blood. Something terrible is coming and we must all be ready. All of us_." As the image of the third wife faded from Bella's mind she could see that Billy was looking directly at her. His last words had been for her alone.

Bella couldn't stand it anymore. She staggered onto her feet and looked wildly around at them all. She could see the elders looking at her knowingly as if this was playing out just like they expected. The pack seemed confused, apart from Sam, who like the old men, seemed to expect her to fall apart in front of them. Bella finally locked eyes with Jacob. He was now standing beside her with an inscrutable expression on his face. He held out a hand toward her. "Come now." His voice was deep and commanding. It echoed with the ages, and Bella now understood why he had brought her here. She hesitated for a moment before placing her hand in his and allowing him to lead her away from the others.

* * *

"I was already there Jacob." Bella sat on the couch, her head in her hands as she hid her face from him. "Did you have to humiliate me in front of them all?"

"I didn't humiliate you. I wanted you to face the truth. To see and hear for yourself exactly what it is you want to become." Jacob hunkered down in front of her and pulled her hands away from her face. He wanted her to look at him, he was sick of the games. He wanted her to look into his eyes and say what she was really thinking and feeling. Of course he had sensed the change in her. He had seen it the first time he had confronted both her and Edward in the parking lot of the school after their return from an impromptu visit to her mother. He had seen the ambivalence in her eyes as she looked at Edward when he had denied lying to her for the umpteenth time. She was pulling away from the bloodsucker, and Jacob had felt she just needed a little push to get her to see Edward Cullen for what he was.

"I have faced the truth." Bella raged at him. She stood up and sidestepped him when he tried to take her in his arms. "No don't touch me." Bella pushed past Jacob and turned her back on him. "I saw it all in Italy. I saw what it really meant to be a vampire. I saw innocent people...children..." She began to sob quietly as the little boys blue eyes came to the forefront of her mind. He had been so happy, she should have saved him, she should have done something, even if meant dying herself. Why had she listened to Edward? Why? She was a coward. A coward of the worst kind. She had allowed a child, a child to die, because she was too scared to speak up, to warn the tourists about the trap they were walking into. "I saw them walk to their deaths. I heard their dying screams." Tears ran down her face in a stream as she began to shake. "I relive it every night in my nightmares and I have to go through every day knowing what a coward I am. I didn't tell them, I failed to warn them to save my own sorry skin." There she had said it. Now Jacob would turn away from her. Now he knew what type of woman he had placed his trust in; given his heart to. He would be disgusted and she couldn't blame him. She was disgusted with herself.

Jacob listened in horror to her confession. He had no idea she had witnessed this when she was in Italy. It was just another thing he added to the bloodsucker's tally. This was Cullen's fault. Bella should never have been forced to see something like that. No wonder she was having nightmares. Anyone would. She was wrong about one thing. There was nothing she could have done to prevent the deaths. She would have been killed herself for even trying. That thought made Jacob feel sick. He approached her cautiously and put a steadying hand on her shoulder. She still had her back to him. "Bells, I am sorry you had to see that. There was nothing you could have done. Nothing."

"How can you continually forgive me, Jake?" Bella wiped at her face angrily. Her tears proved once again how weak she was. "I will never forgive myself."

Jacob made her turn round to face him. He gazed down at her from his great height and sighed when he saw the utter despair in her beautiful brown eyes. They looked haunted, and he couldn't bear to see it. Jacob cupped her face in his hands and leaned down to kiss her. He half expected her to pull away and yell at him. But this time she didn't. She let his lips linger on hers for a long moment before he pulled back and studied her. Tears were pooling in Bella's eyes again, but she seemed a little calmer. Jacob took the initiative and kissed her again. She reciprocated slowly, her mouth moving with his uncertainly at first, until he felt her arms winding around his neck and her lithe body pressing against his.

* * *

They ended up in his bedroom. It hadn't been intentional on either of their parts, but when Jacob had kissed her, something primal had been ignited between them. Something that they innately both needed and wanted. It wasn't just a question of desire. It was more than that. It always had been. Jacob knew that he and Bella shared a deep connection. It had nothing to do with imprinting, it was something unique to them. Call it soul mates, fate or just destiny, but he had always been certain that they belonged together. That was why he had never given up on her, although he had been warned many times to do so.

For Bella it was different. For her it was a culmination of all her hitherto hidden feelings, some that she had only just begun to acknowledge herself. It had started the moment Jacob had tried to kiss her in the kitchen before she left for Italy. It had grown while she was on the plane flying away from the boy she had been falling in love with. It had become more obvious the whole time she was in Florida visiting her mother as she spoke about nothing but Jacob to Renee the entire time; even though Edward was the one who had accompanied her. And she could no longer deny how she truly felt when Jacob placed his lips on hers and claimed her for his own.

Their clothes were long gone, they lay naked in each others arms, kissing and caressing each other. They had no need for words. It had all been said many times over. The guilt that each of them carried would never go away, but with each other to hold onto, the burden lightened a little for both of them.

* * *

"And so they came together in a joyous union as it was always meant to be." Billy smiled as he ended his story; his lined face lighting up as he accepted praise from his audience.

"Jake missed the best bit." Quil called out jokingly.

Billy smiled as he exchanged a knowing glance with the other elders and Sam. "No, young man. I don't think he missed a thing."

_**A/N-thanks for reading this short story. **_


End file.
